Reconnaissance of surface areas on the earth using orbiting satellites can provide a broad overview of an area each time the satellite passes over the area. However, there are a variety of military and civilian situations that require a greater degree of reconnaissance detail or require that the data be provided during a time when either no reconnaissance satellite is in position or no satellite receiver is available. For such situations a person is typically deployed in the area of interest either on foot or by vehicle in order to perform the necessary surveillance. However, such deployment can be dangerous, e.g., inside enemy territory, in fires or other disaster-stricken areas, in areas of toxic spills or leaks, in harsh environments, etc. Additionally, areas to be monitored may be too remote and thereby make a personnel deployment too impractical or expensive. The same limitations hold for situations or areas that must be monitored for a longer period of time. As a result, there has been a recent increased emphasis on the use of a small unmanned air vehicle (SUAV) for performing such activities in both civilian and military situations where the use of manned flight or ground vehicles or human observer is not appropriate and/or feasible. Such missions may for example include surveillance, reconnaissance, target acquisition and/or designation, data acquisition, communications relay, decoy, jamming, harassment, ordnance delivery, or supply flights. This increased emphasis on the role of SUAVs in today's (and tomorrow's) society has led to advancement in both design and propulsion systems of these vehicles.
When small unmanned electrical air vehicles are used for these purposes present day limitations in battery technology become rapidly apparent. As a result of these battery limitations many of the missions that otherwise could be performed by a small unmanned air vehicle are either compromised or regarded as impractical. For example the deployment of a small electrical unmanned air vehicle over significant distances between friendly and hostile locations is quite expensive in terms of vehicle energy storage and operating life hence use of local vehicle parking, for example on adjacent electrical transmission line components, is being considered as is suggested in the above identified U.S. patent applications.
One significant aspect of such local vehicle parking on adjacent electrical transmission line components is concern over the ability of such vehicles to safely achieve a parked status, that is to accomplish the parking and release events without damage to the vehicle or the complex equipment it carries and to achieve this state without use of human intervention or extensive external instruction. The present invention is believed to provide assistance in this area.